For all the attractions of Google’s Android mobile operating system, many smartphones based on it have a quality to which no gadget aspires: They’re less than the sum of their parts. The hardware can be clunky. Device makers …

My TIME.com column this week is about the tenth anniversary of Windows XP—and how it’s managed, against all odds, to remain the world’s most popular operating system, and why that makes some people unhappy.

It’s true, of course, that XP’s dominance is degrading. Some numbers are starting to show Windows 7 overtaking it, although …

My latest Technologizer column on TIME.com is about OnStar FMV, the first version of the car safety-and-information service available as an aftermarket add-in for most cars, cleverly built into a rear-view mirror. When I shared the story on Twitter, Facebook and Google+, I heard from some folks who said FMV sounded neat. But a few said …